(2016 Kuwait City, Kuwait) “Contemporary Roles of Governments in the Knowledge Economy Era”, Government of Kuwait

Kuwaiti government’s national conference entitled “Contemporary Roles of Governments in the Knowledge Economy Era”, 1-2 February 2016 in Kuwait. In addition to WASD, other international organisations that participated in the conference were the World Bank and the UNDP. The conference was structured in three main sessions, each of them followed by discussions:

Session I: Government’s roles in underpinning and promotion of the knowledge economy environment.

In particular, Prof. Ahmed was invited to take part in an expert panel discussion entitled “The Role of Innovation Ecosystem in Driving Knowledge Practices and Activities”, together with five other distinguished experts in the field:

In addition, Prof. Ahmed also gave a three hours workshop on “KM Methodology towards Achieving: Cost Saving, Improving Productivity and Enhancing Profitability”. The session was attended by policy makers and businesses from across the Arab world.

During the conference, Prof. Ahmed signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on behalf of WASD and MEKEI (WASD’s sister organisation), agreeing to collaborate and engage in various activities with the Kuwait Government Supreme Council for Planning and Development in relation to Kuwait’s National Project for Knowledge Economy (NPKE).

The aim of the MOU is to promote co-operation between the three institutions in teaching, consultancy, capacity building and scientific research. Among the different items discussed were the co-operation in the joint delivery of a “Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) International Course” in Kuwait, starting early September 2016; consultancy on a wide range of knowledge management (KM) issues; and the development of joint consultancy research activities on the performance and transformation of the State of Kuwait into a sustainability, knowledge-intensive economy.

Regarding his experience during the short visit to Kuwait, Prof. Ahmed said: